Currently, home cooking control largely relies on the user's experiences for setting various cooking parameters, such as time duration and heating power. Some known cooking appliances determine the cooking process parameters by using information inputted by user, such as the food type or the food size, based on an ‘average’ food model. In both cases, a non-optimal cooking result is often encountered due to errors from user inputs or a significant discrepancy between the actual food and the ‘average’ food model used by the cooking appliance.
DE102012011165A1 discloses a device with a radio transmitter for transmitting electromagnetic waves and a radio receiver for detecting the electromagnetic waves. The attenuation of the electromagnetic waves is detected by an evaluation unit. A characteristic of an object is determined from the detected attenuation. The characteristic of the object is selected from the presence of the object in a predetermined spatial region, phase state, material composition, temperature or speed of the object.
US2013/027060A1 discloses a calorie estimating device for measuring a calorie content of a food item. The device comprises a transmitter antenna configured to transmit ultra-wide band signals to at least a portion of the food item. The ultra-wide band signals are detected and analyzed to determine a thickness of the food item.
JP2905017B2 discloses a device for reducing a thawing irregularity of a food item and for automatically thawing said food item using a thawing plate. The device comprises a light emitting unit for irradiating an infrared ray and a photosensor for receiving the infrared ray. The light emitting unit and the photosensor are configured to detect a thickness of the food item.